NorthX Climate Tech is an independent Canadian nonprofit investor and commercialization catalyst for climate hard tech. Founded in October 2021 as the BC Centre for Innovation and Clean Energy (CICE), it launched with $105 million in commitments from the Government of British Columbia, Shell Canada, and the Government of Canada through Natural Resources Canada’s Energy Innovation Program. NorthX is based at Suite 1210, 1066 West Hastings Street in Vancouver and is led by President and CEO Sarah Goodman.
NorthX backs physical technologies that can reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions while producing economic benefits for British Columbia and Canada. Its focus includes energy storage and grid capacity, industrial decarbonization, clean fuels, wildfire prevention and response, carbon management, climate adaptation, and other hardware- and materials-led solutions. The organization targets the commercialization gap between technical promise and market deployment, especially projects at technology readiness levels 4–9.
Funding is non-dilutive and tailored by opportunity: NorthX says investments may be repayable or non-repayable, with approved Open Intake projects receiving milestone-based reimbursement funding. Support extends beyond capital to technical validation, lifecycle assessment, investor and industry introductions, market readiness, and follow-on funding. NorthX reports that, by May 2026, it had backed more than 74 projects with over $57 million and helped catalyze more than $600 million in follow-on investment. Those figures are reported by NorthX and are not presented as independently audited outcomes.
The Women in Climate Tech initiative adds a gender-lens pathway for capital-intensive climate ventures. In September 2026, NorthX reported that more than $36 million had been committed across 45 projects at companies with women in leadership—over 58% of its total capital commitments—and that those investments had unlocked more than $430 million in additional capital.
NorthX invests where climate hard tech has demonstrated technical merit and a credible commercialization pathway but still faces a capital gap before scaled deployment. The active Open Intake is available on a rolling basis to Canadian-incorporated companies developing greenhouse-gas reduction or removal innovations. Preference goes to projects with direct, measurable impact in British Columbia and broader Canadian economic benefits.
Eligible work can include pilots, demonstrations, implementation projects, monitoring technologies, and business-model innovations tied to hard-tech deployment. NorthX explicitly excludes standalone studies, research projects, software-only products, and digital-only solutions from the Open Intake. Its public funding page describes practical technologies—steel, circuits, chemistry, batteries, clean fuels, carbon removal, electrification, and industrial systems, rather than app-based climate products.
The Open Intake starts with a short expression of interest through the NorthX portal. NorthX aims to respond within 30 days; invited applicants then have up to 30 days for a detailed proposal, followed by due diligence and a target decision window of 60–90 days. Approved projects sign a funding agreement and are reimbursed against agreed milestones.
There is no single public organization-wide cheque range. Program amounts vary: for example, the 2026 University Call offered $100,000–$250,000 per selected BC university venture, while the closed 2026 Women in Climate Tech call allocated up to $3 million across multiple projects. Founders should use the current program guide rather than treating those figures as universal minimums or maximums.
Photo credit: NorthX Climate Tech / northx.ca
Non-dilutive capital for climate hard tech
NorthX uses repayable or non-repayable project funding, structured around commercialization milestones rather than taking equity through a conventional venture round.
Rolling Open Intake
Canadian-incorporated hard-tech companies can submit an expression of interest throughout the year, reducing the need to wait for a sector-specific call.
Support from validation to deployment
Funding can be paired with lifecycle assessment, market-readiness work, technical validation, and introductions to investors, customers, industry, and government.
A clear British Columbia mandate
NorthX prioritizes measurable emissions and economic benefits in BC while supporting technologies with the potential to compete and decarbonize industries across Canada and globally.
Dedicated pathways for overlooked founders
Women in Climate Tech addresses capital and commercialization barriers through targeted funding, visibility, partner programming, and market connections.
Focus areas
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